Welcome to Better Europe’s weekly update on EU Affairs.
SÉJOURNÉ SELLS RED TAPE SIMPLIFICATION, WARBORN WANTS EVEN MORE
A Parliament Legal Affairs Committee meeting turned into a regulatory battlefield this week, as Commission Executive Vice President Stéphane Séjourné pitched the ‘Omnibus’ proposal for simpler (read: deregulated) rules. However, Jörgen Warborn (EPP, Sweden), the MEP responsible for the file, argued that it doesn’t go far enough. Séjourné presented the Omnibus I package as a lifeline for EU businesses drowning in complexity. The goal? Trim legal fat, not slash standards. He promised digitalized procedures, clearer rules for SMEs, and more predictable policymaking, especially regarding sustainability, investment, and the single market. But Warborn wasn’t convinced. Presenting his initial ideas, he welcomed the Commission proposal as “a good start,” yet pressed for deeper cuts. He wants to raise corporate reporting thresholds to align with the due diligence rules, setting the bar at 1,000 employees or a €450 million turnover, and limiting corporate liability to direct trading partners. While Séjourné warned against turning the omnibus into a legislative free-for-all, Warborn called for a regulatory “reality check” and less leeway for national top-ups referred to as ‘gold-plating’ in Brussels jargon. The battle lines are being drawn ahead of a draft report due in June and a vote on the Parliament’s negotiating position this autumn.
PARLIAMENT WANTS A MORE FEDERAL EU BUDGET
Brussels is getting ready for a major political battle for influence that takes place every seven years — the negotiations on the 2027-2033 EU budget, or “Multi-Annual Financial Framework”. Since 1993, EU budgets have covered seven years (the formal minimum is five), which means budget negotiations are not synchronised to a new Commission or Parliament, and some Parliaments do not really get to leave their fingerprints on the EU’s spending. This time, the timing is optimal for MEPs to flex their muscles and put forward a list of demands well ahead of the Commission’s opening move, expected in July this year. And of course, to worry about NGO funding programmes. In the Budget Committee’s compromise text adopted this week, MEPs call for increased Erasmus+ funding and increased “support for environment and biodiversity protection and climate action building on the current LIFE programme”. MEPs, federalists as they are, call for an increased EU budget above the current 1% gross national income limit and also say “no to single national plans”, dismissing the model used for the Recovery and Resilience Facility where every Member State was promised a certain “return on investment”. The report, to be endorsed in plenary in May, firmly pits the Parliament against Member States and their national interests, announcing potentially difficult negotiations in the next 18 months before the current budget runs out.
ENVI MEPS GRILL COMMISSION ON COP30
Following Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra’s trip to Brazil to discuss the upcoming COP30 priorities with Brazilian government representatives earlier this week, the Parliament’s environment committee discussed the Union’s preparation for COP30 with the Commission. The event which is set to take place in Belém Brazil this November will also be attended by a parliamentary delegation. MEPs highlighted the need to integrate the ETS into the global carbon market and the need to update Nationally Determined Contributions. Commission official Kurt Vandenberghe (DG of Climate Action) was questioned on the EU’s role in supporting developing countries, the EU’s leadership as a climate actor and the state of climate multilateralism in its lacking of US participation. He reaffirmed the EU’s position as a global climate leader and confirmed its promotion of carbon pricing globally. Humberto Delgado Rosa, Director of Biodiversity at DG Environment reassured MEPs that the recently concluded Biodiversity COP16 was indeed a success, but did admit that significant challenges in funding remain. Delgado Rosa also announced the forthcoming launch of terms of reference for a European Biodiversity Centre, and suggested that the recently held roundtable on the development of biodiversity credits held by Commissioner Roswell might push the agenda forward.